Small watercraft can pose a hazard to commercial shipping and even naval ships. Regarding the former, Somali pirates have disrupted commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden and even into the Indian Ocean. In 2008, these pirates collected in excess of $150 M in ransom from hijacked ship owners. The pirates use small craft to assault the ship; grappling hooks are used to secure lines, board the ship and seize control. Since modern merchant ships are highly automated, there are typically only small crews for onboard for defense. This enables pirates to easily overpower the crew and operate the ship after hijacking.
When maneuvering in restricted conditions, moored, or at anchor, naval vessels are particularly vulnerable to attack from a group of small, fast boats. Due to their size, speed, and maneuverability, these small boats can attack and then run and hide from larger navy vessels. To make matters worse, hostiles will often be operating in their own waters where they will typically enjoy a significant numerical advantage and superior knowledge of the waterways. This type of attack, which is referred to as a “small-boat-swarm,” is the tactic of choice for terrorists.
There are no truly cost-effective options for addressing the piracy issue. The naval response to small-boat-swarm has been to deploy similarly-sized, stealthy, fast, heavily-armed craft. An appropriately outfitted Zodiac-type raft has been used for this service. But even highly-trained navy personnel have a limited capability to withstand the repeated shock to their bodies that occurs when traveling in such craft at high speed in moderately high sea states.